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Beginnings

My Way To Start a Meal

Published by Weldon Owen
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
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About The Book

The first cookbook from innovative and highly regarded chef Chris Cosentino, this contemporary collection of mouthwatering Italian antipasti recipes, written for the home cook, is unlike anything on the market.

Philosophy of book
The seasonal and innovative ingredient combinations found in each of the Italian dishes in Beginnings exemplify Chris’s style of cooking made popular at his highly regarded restaurant Incanto and make use of his love of Italian salumi from his popular salumeria Boccalone. The recipes are at once simple and rustic, yet contemporary and inspiring.


The first cookbook from innovative and highly regarded chef Chris Cosentino, Beginnings presents more than 60 recipes for Italian-style first courses. Organized by season, the book draws upon Chris’s years of experience cooking both at home and in restaurant kitchens. The seasonal, yet creative ingredient combinations found in each of the dishes exemplify the style of cooking Chris employs at his San Francisco restaurant, Incanto, and many of them make use of his love of Italian salumi from his artisan salumeria, Boccalone. Hand-rendered sketches of many of the dishes and personal stories throughout, combined with the simple and rustic, yet contemporary and inspiring recipes give you a rare glimpse into one of today’s most exciting culinary minds.

About The Author

Chris Cosentino graduated from the culinary program at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island and went on to build his résumé at several top restaurants in Washington, DC and in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he resides today. Chris took his first executive chef position at Incanto restaurant in 2002 where he continues to create inspired and innovative interpretations of rustic Italian fare. Chris is also the co-founder of Boccalone artisanal salumeria and has gained international acclaim as a leading expert and proponent of offal cookery. Chris has appeared on numerous television cooking shows, has been featured in many national publications, and has consulted on a line of clothing, shoes, and knives, to name just a few of his many ongoing projects.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Weldon Owen (May 8, 2012)
  • Length: 192 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781616282943

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Raves and Reviews

"Though long a fearless pioneer and innovator on the San Francisco Bay Area scene, Chris Cosentino's excellent book offers comfort, reassurance and an array of enticing possibilities. If you thought you had enough "Italian" cookbooks? You clearly don't."

– Anthony Bourdain

"Chris cooks with a lot of heart. And you see that in his restaurant, in his cured meats, and in this cookbook. He takes care with each and every ingredient and shows you how to make them astonishing."

– José Andrés

"When I met Chris, he was known as a chef with a peerless reputation for cooking offal and variety meats. Over the years of our friendship, I have come to love and admire him as a brilliant and creative technician, one of the best chefs in the country, a culinary daredevil without boundaries. That being said, the best thing he ever made me to eat was a humble bowl of noodles that remain the benchmark against which I measure all pasta courses. I am thrilled that Chris has put all of that genius into a book that is as satisfying for the food geek as it is for a family to pull weeknight dinners from. It's a stunning debut of workable recipe authorship from a thinking man's chef."

– Andrew Zimmern

"Chris built his reputation on cooking hearts, brains, and kidneys, but it's the soul in his food that sets him apart from his peers."

– Tom Colicchio

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